USC Sea Grant’s Collaborative, Applied Fisheries Research

It seems like the premise of a horror movie: giant armies of purple sea urchins mysteriously congregating, marching across the sea floor, and mowing down entire kelp forests. But alas, this is no movie.

Georgia Sea Grant and the University of Georgia Skidaway Institute of Oceanography entered their fourth year of black gill research with the introduction of a new smartphone app that will allow shrimpers to help scientists collect data on the problem.

"We did this project specifically as a service to local municipalities to get them accurate data to utilize, if they're going to go with the approach of seeding and growing shellfish as part of their water quality management plans."